| Copse Snail (Arianta arbustorum (Linnaeus, 1758)) |
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Scientific name: Arianta arbustorum (Linnaeus, 1758) Common name: Copse Snail French name: Hélice des bois, Escargot des arbres. Order: Stylommatophora Size: Shell's diameter: 14 to 28 mm; height: 16 mm. Habitat : Forests, woodlands, copses, river banks, rare in dry habitats. Food: Vegetarian. Reproduction : Cross-fertilizing hermaphrodite. The eggs are laid between the roots of herbaceous plants. Geographic area: North-western and Central Europe, including the Alps and the Carpathian Mountains, introduced to Canada. |
The Copse Snail shows a shiny brownish globular shell, marked with small irregular spots and often with a thin dark band. The body is black to more or less pale brown. This is a very sedentary species with a low dispersal capacity. You can find the Alpine subspecies, Arianta arbustorum alpicola, in altitude. It is a smaller size and a lighter colour. |
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I have observed this Copse Snail in the Vercors Massif at about 1200metres in altitude. Is this the Alpine subspecies, Arianta arbustorum alpicola? I have not enough experience to know and, furthermore, I have not measured the size. |
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This Copse (or Alpine) Snail was observed in a high altitude meadow with sparse rocks but no woodlands nor copses in the vicinity. |
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This last photo better shows the shell's coiling. |
André Bon October 2021